Review: Kill Me Three Times

PLOT: A professional hit-man tries to track down a hired kill, but finds he is not alone in his attempts. Things get far more complicated for the professional as he finds himself in the midst of a web of betrayal, lies and greed.

REVIEW: The new dark comedy KILL ME THREE TIMES has one hell of a good ensemble of actors. It also features what could have been an inspired tale of greed, revenge and betrayal. Its unfortunate that it is ultimately an uninspired, and fairly dull, hour and a half that never fully develops its fun premise. Its not that it is a bad film, it is more that it isnt all that entertaining or memorable. Its a shame, as the idea of seeing Simon Pegg as a ruthless assassin was a fantastic piece of casting. And yes, he seems to relish in playing a despicable, albeit funny, character. However, it would have been better off to kill this flick one time and get it over with.

The story revolves around a series of events, all seemingly connected to the attempted murder of the lovely Alice Braga. Braga is Alice Taylor, and it seems not only is she being followed by Charlie Wolfe (Pegg), but a couple of bumbling amateur criminals as well, Nathan Webb (Sullivan Stapleton) and his wife Lucy (Teresa Palmer) are desperate to rid the world of her - with a few other plans cooked up. So many people are trying to kill Alice or do some other dirty deed, yet this poor girl is a whole lot tougher than she appears. And somewhere in this mess is Dylan Smith (Luke Hemsworth), with whom Alice appears to share a secret or two. Somehow, all of the stories are intertwined and the motivations of those involved are revealed as the movie progresses. Its convoluted, and sadly it is pretty bland.

Director Kriv Stenders certainly uses the locations quite well. At least there is a ton of beauty on display. In fact, this is such a stylish film you can almost get lost in the fact it looks as great as it does. Unfortunately for him, it is nearly impossible to make an ironic thriller these days without getting a Tarantino comparison, and perhaps that is part of the problem. The attempts at humor here - with a script by James McFarland - only occasionally work. The mean-spiritedness of it all is not terribly amusing. Within all the murder and mayhem, it is devoid of actual thrills and fun. Not a single character was all that interesting. As much as the talented actors try, it is difficult to invest in the double crossing and the who or why of it all.

The best thing I can say regarding this Australian dark comedy is the cast. While this is not the type of movie youd expect to see Simon Pegg in - or rather the type of role - he is especially good here. It was also refreshing to see Sullivan Stapleton in an average Joe type of role as opposed to his work in 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE. Teresa Palmer is also quite good, and her frustration with her underprepared partner is fun to watch. The cast is not the problem here, it is probably more the characters that they are portraying that fails. Even the less guilty ones are a little insufferable, and maybe even a little bland.

KILL ME THREE TIMES is at its very best, okay. At its worst, it is pretty damn dull. The plot is convoluted with a not terribly satisfying conclusion, and the conniving cast of characters are mostly forgettable. If you are a huge Simon Pegg fan - which I am one - youll be happy to see him take on an assassin with a bloody dark sense of humor. Yet the focus here is messy, and there is little else to really make this worth going out of your way watch. This is not the worst of its kind, yet it feels familiar and recycled. It may make the most of its beautiful locales so there is that. This is the kind of flick that you can catch on Netflix and maybe find a few moments to entertain yourself, but nothing more.